The relationship between the specific luminescence dS/dx of organic scintillators and characteristic quantities of the ionizing particle is investigated. Considering the existence of the two scintillation components and the effect of δ rays, it is shown that dS/dx depends on the specific energy loss dE/dx and on the charge number z of the incident particle: For a given differential energy loss, the ion having the greatest charge number gives rise to the highest light output; for a given particle with increasing dE/dx, the specific luminescence goes through a maximum.
The theoretical conclusions are in agreement with experimental results obtained using α particles of 1 to 8 MeV, 3He ions in the energy range 1–3 MeV and protons from 0.3 to 3 MeV. An experimental device is described, which allows a direct measurement of the energy loss ΔE of particles passing through a thin organic scintillator, and of a quantity proportional to the number ΔS of emitted photons.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.